The Kremlin blames the West for the Nord Stream pipeline attack, and Ukraine denies involvement – so who was responsible?
On 26 September, blasts hit the natural gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea. It is widely believed they were attacked, but the cause is still unknown.
It is thought that a minimum of 50m (164ft) of the underwater Nord Stream 1 pipeline bringing Russian gas to Germany has been destroyed. Danish police believe “powerful explosions” blew four holes in the pipe and its newer twin, Nord Stream 2.
Nato and Western leaders have stopped short of directly accusing Russia of attacking its own pipelines. However, the EU has previously claimed Russia uses its gas pipelines as a weapon against the West.
The Nord Stream pipeline is 200 ft under the ocean.
The pipes are huge and strong. They are also covered with three inches of cement.
And the sabotage occurred in the area controlled by Denmark.
It takes extremely talented divers, geopolitical connections, and hi-tech weapons… https://t.co/rKkS76YED5 pic.twitter.com/n25VygrFRz
— S.L. Kanthan (@Kanthan2030) March 7, 2023
Ukraine ‘was absolutely not involved’, says Mykhailo Podolyak
According to the BBC, Ukraine has denied involvement in September’s attack on the Nord Stream pipelines, which carry gas to Germany. Adviser to the Ukrainian president, Mykhailo Podolyak, said Ukraine “was absolutely not involved”.
‘It’s like a compliment for our special forces, but this is not our activity’
Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov rejected suggestions that Kyiv ordered the Nord Stream pipeline attack. “It’s like a compliment for our special forces, but this is not our activity,” he told reporters in Stockholm.
This follows a report from the New York Times, which according to anonymous U.S. intelligence officials, suggests a pro-Ukrainian group was to blame.
The newspaper states: “Officials who have reviewed the intelligence said they believed the saboteurs were most likely Ukrainian or Russian nationals or some combination of the two.”
Breaking News: A pro-Ukrainian group may have carried out the attack on the Nord Stream pipelines last year, intelligence reviewed by U.S. officials suggested. https://t.co/KFoOp9RyZk
— The New York Times (@nytimes) March 7, 2023
Die Zeit claims six individuals in a yacht carried out the attack
Germany’s Defense Minister Boris Pistorius also cautioned on Wednesday, 1 March, that a pro-Ukraine group was involved in the Nord Stream gas pipeline explosions in the Baltic Sea last year.
This follows reports yesterday from the German daily newspaper Die Zeit and public broadcasters ARD and SWR that investigators were able to largely reconstruct how the pipelines from Russia to Germany were sabotaged on the night of 26 September 2022.
The news outlets cite multiple unnamed officials and report that five men and a woman used a yacht hired by a Ukrainian-owned company in Poland to carry out the attack. Additionally, German federal prosecutors confirmed that a boat was searched in January.
The German media reports claim that the suspects used forged passports when hiring the boat, which left the German port of Rostock containing a captain, two divers, two diving assistants and a doctor.
German Defense Minister said that though he read the news reports “with great interest”, he has warned against drawing perfunctory conclusions.
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius warned against reaching premature conclusions on who was responsible for blowing up the Nord Stream pipelines, suggesting the attack could also have been a ‘false flag’ operation to blame Ukraine https://t.co/On0ZOdsba5 pic.twitter.com/tDXENcfVvL
— Reuters (@Reuters) March 8, 2023
A false-flag operation by a group pretending to be Ukrainian?
Pistorius said some experts also had raised the possibility of a so-called false flag operation by a group pretending to be Ukrainian.
“It would not be the first time in the history of such events,” Pistorius explained. “As such, I’m refraining from drawing premature conclusions.”
Moscow has blamed the West for the Nord Stream pipeline explosions
Russia has blamed the West for the attack and questioned how the U.S. could come to such conclusions without an investigation. It has called on the UN Security Council to investigate them independently.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and his officials have accused the U.S. of staging the pipeline explosions, which they described as a terror attack.
Only time will tell who is responsible
Currently, there is no proof that a pro-Ukraine group committed the Nord Stream pipeline attack. Until further evidence comes out, there is no saying who is responsible for the Nord Stream Pipeline attack.
Only time will tell.
